Family Ties
by BoSephus
Summary: Scully's youngest brother has joined the FBI and is stationed to DC HQ. When he goes missing, Mulder and Scully will do anything to find him. While this is a character introduction piece it is also very M and S centered. Set in the second half of season six, their is M/S friendship and comfort appropriate to the tone of the show at the time. Rated T for some whumpage.
1. Chapter 1

**Tuesday 4:30pm Scully's Car**

* * *

As Scully drove to her mother's house she was in a wonderful mood. Her baby brother was home after being in Nicaragua for more than a year. She had been thrilled when he decided to join the bureau, and had loved having him so close while he was at Quantico. Then, only two months after leaving the academy they had sent him to Central America with an anti-terrorist unit. He was the perfect fit for the job with his military background and his amazing ability to pick up new languages; currently he was fluent in eight. In fact he had performed so well that he was given his choice of assignments upon his return.

Fortunately for Scully and her mother he had chosen a spot on Skinner's anti-terrorism task force based out of H.Q.

As she pulled into the driveway she saw him on their mother's porch, his six foot two inch frame leaning against the railing. With his short cropped hair and well toned frame he still looked very much like the Marine he once was. As he saw her approach he jumped up and flicked a cigarette off of the porch bounding to greet her.

"Hey Red!," he shouted as he grabbed her in a bear hug of an embrace, "We weren't expecting you for another hour!"

"Obviously", she said with a great deal of sarcasm, "You absolutely reek of smoke! I thought that you had quit."

"Well, I had...", he stammered sheepishly, "but a year hanging with Nicaraguan drug runners kind of ruined that. I promise I'll make every attempt to stop again."

Just then they heard their mother's voice from the doorway.

"Jacob, your brother is on the phone, he wants to talk to you."

Jake sighed, "Great, just what I need a heart to heart with Junior."

As her brother turned to walk inside Scully had to suppress a smile, her brothers had never gotten along very well. When Jake had started using his middle name in High School Bill had refused to make the change and continued to call him Charles. Jake had retaliated by dubbing his brother "Junior", which Bill detested.

Things did not get better as they got older either. First Jake snubbed an appointment to Annapolis to enlist in the Marines and then later, much to Bill's horror, ditched the service all together to join the FBI. And, to top it all off Jake absolutely adored Mulder. Scully hated to admit it but she was glad that Bell was in San Diego right now. This way Mulder could come for dinner and they would actually be able to enjoy themselves.

* * *

**5:00pm Mulder's Office**

* * *

Mulder tapped his desk impatiently as he checked the time. He didn't want to be late for Jake's homecoming dinner but he had to wait for this call. Three days ago he had been contacted by a man at the defense department who claimed to have access to information on the smoking man's latest activities. The mere fact that he new the old man existed gave Mulder hope that he was a reliable source.

"5:15, D*mn buddy you were supposed to call an hour ago." Just then the phone rang and Mulder jumped up answering it, "Mulder"

"Mr. Mulder", the voice on the other end replied, "This is you're friend at the Defense Department. I'm sorry that I'm late in calling, I know that you are anxious to get a hold of the information that I have."

"Yes I am, how soon can we meet?" Mulder answered

"I'm sorry to say that I will be unable to access those files until the day after tomorrow. I was hoping to get the sooner but something big is happening and I have to be very careful"

"Well", Mulder sighed, "I can certainly understand that considering the men who are involved. When will you contact me again?"

"I will call you Thursday once I have the files and we can set up a meeting place. I must go now, Goodbye Agent Mulder"

With that the phone went dead. Mulder was disappointed that he would have to wait, but if the files were what this man had promised it would be worth it.

Well, he could think about that later, he had to get going. He didn't want to keep the Scullys waiting.


	2. Chapter 2

OK, so not too many takers so far. Here's a couple more chapters. This one is a bit more background, the action starts to pick up in the next one. If your reading and would like to see more please drop a quick line to let me know so I know whether I should continue.

6:00pm- Maggie Scully's House:

As Mrs. Scully finished preparations for dinner Dana was busy setting the table. Jake had gone outside to "get something from the car". After he had been gone for a full ten minutes Dana knew damn well that he was doing no such thing. At least if he was going to sneak off to smoke he could come up with a better lie. Oh well, that lecture could wait for another day. Tonight was for catching up and enjoying each others company. As Dana entered the kitchen Jake returned to the house followed by Mulder.

"Hey Mom, this homeless guy was looking for a place to eat so I invited him in. I hope that's OK," Jake announced with a grin.

"Hello Mrs. Scully", Mulder said as he extended the flowers in his right hand, "These are for you and thank you for having me over for dinner."

"Oh, thank you Fox", she said as she took the bouquet, "And you're more than welcome. I knew that Jake would want to see you, and from what Dana tells me you don't often get a home cooked meal."

At that Mulder smiled at Scully and turned to Jake presenting a large paper bag. "This is for you Jacob, welcome back."

As he opened the package Jake's eyes lit up, "Heineken, Mulder you are a saint!" he exclaimed as he pulled the twelve pack from the bag. "Do you have any idea how shitty the beer is in Nicaragua?"

"Jacob! Watch your language", his mother chided.

"Yes ma'am, sorry", he replied hanging his head

Scully let out a small laugh. No matter how old men get they are always such little boys around their mothers.

"Why don't you two take your beer into the dining room and have a seat, dinner's almost ready." she suggested patting her brother on the arm.

1 hour later:

After dinner Jake and Mulder volunteered to do the dishes and headed into the kitchen.  
"So, have you found a place to live yet?" Mulder asked.

"No, I'm going to stay with my mom until I do," Jake replied as he turned on the faucet. "Hopefully I'll find something soon, but until then this works out well. I get to be pampered for a while and mom gets to have the baby around."

"Not a bad deal," Mulder said picking up a dish towel, "Have you had a chance to talk to Skinner about what you'll be doing?"

"Yeah, I had a meeting with him and my new partner this morning. I'm pretty happy too, my partner is Kyle Singer, we were in the corps together for a while. Our first few assignments are going to be pretty routine. Tomorrow we get to drive to Virginia to talk to a guy who bought an unusually large amount of fertilizer.

"Wow, thrilling stuff." Mulder said sarcastically as he took the last clean plate and dried it. "I've the pleasure myself."

"Yeah I know," Jake sighed, "but you know, after a year of dangerous under cover work I don't really mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that I went and it was interesting work, but I spent everyday knowing that if I spoke with the wrong accent or forgot some detail about my fake life I'd be busted. I could actually go for something a little mundane right now."

"Well buddy, you never know," Mulder said patting him on the back, "sometimes it's the routine assignments that end up being a lot more interesting than what you bargained for."

With that the two men left the kitchen joining Dana and her mother for coffee.


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesday, 8:20am: Basement office of J.E. Hoover FBI Bldg

Mulder sat at his desk in the usual position, feet propped up popping sunflower seeds into his mouth. When Scully finally walked in a broad grin spread across Mulders face.

"Well now," he said, glancing at his watch, "Isn't this a switch me beating you to work. You look a little rough, are you OK Scully?"

"Yeah Mulder, I'm fine just tired." She said plopping into the other chair. "Jake and I stayed up pretty late last night catching up. I think I need some coffee. Do you want a cup?"

"Yeah, thanks." Mulder said returning his attention to the file in his hand.

As Scully walked down the hallway her thoughts drifted to the conversation with her brother the night before. It wasn't until they had started to talk that she realized just how much he had missed while he was gone. She had considered not telling him how bad the cancer had been but in the end she figured that he had the right to know everything.

She could tell that he was upset that he hadn't been there for her. At the time she had wanted him to be there. She had been afraid that she would die without being able to say goodbye to him. Now however she was glad that he had been away. He had been so devastated by Melissa's death, Dana was thankful that he had been spared the pain of her own illness.

As she walked back down the hallway, coffee in hand her thoughts were interrupted when someone grabbed her from behind. Scully jumped, almost dousing herself with the steaming hot liquid she carried. She wheeled around to see her brother grinning mischievously.

"Jacob! For the love of God, DO NOT sneak up on me like that!" She shouted.

"I'm sorry." Jake said flashing his best little boy smile.

"No you aren't Charles Jacob Scully, I know you better than that" she said with a raised eyebrow. "I thought that you were going to Virginia today."

"I am." Jake replied, "We're leaving in a little bit. I just wanted to introduce you to my partner." Jake motioned to the man standing next to him, "Kyle Singer, I'd like you to meet my sister, Agent Dana Scully."

"It's a pleasure ma'am," Kyle said shaking Dana's hand.

"Likewise," she replied, "Good luck working with my adolescent brother."

Kyle smiled and nodded, "Actually, I'm used to Jake's sense of humor. If you can believe it he was even more juvenile when we were in the service."

"Alright, enough Jake bashing for one morning." Jake protested, "Kyle and I still have some stuff do around here before we head out. Dana, will I be seeing at dinner this evening?"

"No, probably not, I have a ton of paper work to catch up on and I'm pretty wiped out after last night." Scully replied.

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then." Jake said.

With that the agents parted company returning to their work.

2:00pm: Route 29 Outside of Lynchburg, Virginia

As they drove towards the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains Jake was drawn to the beauty passing by his window. God, he had forgotten how much he loved Virginia. The colors of fall spilled over the rolling hills in front of them. As a child Jake thought the foliage looked like fruity pebbles cereal.

He smiled at the memories of family vacations. His favorite had been the time they had traveled through Virginia to North Carolina after dropping Bill off at Annapolis for the first time. It had been such an adventure for him hiking through the woods with his big sisters. Jake turned his head as tears came to his eyes. His heart ached as images of Melissa flooded his mind. Suddenly he was jerked back to reality as he realized Kyle was saying something to him.

"Jake, Hey..." Kyle said tapping him on the shoulder.  
"Oh, I'm sorry. What were you saying?" Jake mumbled turning from the window to face his partner.

"We're coming up on Lynchburg, don't we need to turn soon?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Jake said picking up the map, "Two miles ahead turn left and then follow the signs for Coleman Falls."

"Geez man, where were you just then?" Kyle asked with a look of concern on his face.

"Sorry Kyle, when I was a kid we vacationed not far from her. I guess that I just got a little caught up in the memory." Jake responded.

"Oh, that's cool. When I was a kid all we ever did was go to the Jersey Shore" Kyle said with a laugh.  
Jake smiled and turned back to the window. He was glad that he had been partnered with Kyle. They hadn't been real close when they were in the Marines but their squads had gone on some joint missions in the Gulf. One night something had gone terribly wrong resulting in most of Jakes platoon, including him, being seriously wounded. The brass had said that mistakes were made by Kyle's squad that lead to the incident. Jake had never blamed the other guys though, he had always seen it as an accident. He had been glad to see Kyle was able to get past that and start a career in the bureau. Plus he was thrilled to know that another Marine had his back.

3:30 pm: The Home of Lester Stillwell- Coleman Falls, Virginia

As the agents pulled into the driveway Jake looked around noticing how small the man's property was. "There is no way that guy needed all that fertilizer for this place," Jake said getting out of the car.

"Well, you never know he might have land somewhere else." Klye offered. "We won't know until we ask."

Jake reached the front door and knocked saying, "FBI Mister Stillwell, may we speak with you?"

"Sure thing!" A voice called from inside, "The doors open, come on in."

Jake opened the door with his left hand near his holster and stepped slowly into the house. As the man in the living room turned around a look of shock registered on Jake's face. The man in front of him was not Lester Stillwell!

As the look on Jakes face turned from shock to anger he moved forward prepared to strike the man in front of him. "You piece of shit," he spat moving his hand to his gun. Before he could pull his weapon from its holster something hard struck Jake on the back of his head, and he fell hard to the floor unconscious. Kyle stood over him with a cold smile on his face holding the gun he had just used to pistol whip his partner.

"You're late." The other man said.

"Yeah I know, sorry about that, but we still have plenty of time to get him out of here." Kyle replied as he stepped over Jake's limp form to enter the kitchen


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello. Here is some more of the story. Please let me know if you're out there reading. Also let me know what you like/don't like. I strive to write in character so let me know if I'm slipping :] Remember more reviews mean quicker updates!_

**Wednesday 4:15pm-The home of Lester Stillwell, Coleman Falls, VA:**

Jacob Scully lay on the living room floor of the small rural home, blood still seeping from the gash on the back of his head. As he slowly regained consciousness he struggled to remember where he was and what had happened to him. Then a though shot into his mind, **_Kyle! Where was Kyle?_** Opening his eyes Jake attempted to lift his head off of the floor but a sharp pain ripped through his head, and he had to fight to keep from passing out again. As the pain began to subside he could hear voices coming from a nearby room.

"We need to get him out of here now" said the first.

"Aw come on man," the other complained, "He's a heavy fucker, I say we wait for him to wake up and make him walk out."

Jake immediately recognized the first voice, but it took him several long minutes to realize who the second one belonged to. It took several more for him to comprehend what it meant. Kyle was working for that bastard! Jake tried to pull his thoughts together as his skull continued to ache.

**_They were talking about taking me somewhere, so they aren't going to kill me. At least not yet anyway._**

Jake knew that sooner or later someone would miss him. That would mean that Skinner and, most likely Dana, would come looking for him. He had to think to think of some way to leave them a clue. Slowly, he removed the chain from around his neck and slid his hand under the couch in front of him. Only seconds later the two men walked into the room and saw him moving.

"Oh shit," the first muttered, "now he's awake."

"So let's get him up and outta here," Kyle suggested.

"No, I don't think so. It'll be easier this way."

With that the other man kicked Jake in the head, sending him back into darkness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

**Thursday, 8:15am - J. E. Hoover FBI Building:**

As Mulder and Scully walked towards AD Skinner's office they both wondered why they had been summoned to see him first thing in the morning.

A vein of worry had throbbed in the back of Scully's mind all night. Her mother had called to say that Jake hadn't come home the night before. While she had reassured her mother that he was probably just busy with work she failed to convince herself that was the case. It was not like her brother to call to check in.

When she saw the look on Skinner's face as they entered his office, a fresh wave of dread washed over her.

"Agents please sit down," he said gravely, "First thing this morning I received a call from the Lynchburg police." As he spoke, Scully's brow furrowed. "Early this morning they found the body of one Lester Stillwell in his car on the side of a country road. He had been shot once, execution style."

Skinner paused and focused his attention on Scully,

"Dana, I'm sorry to tell you this, but Lester Stillwell was the man you're brother and his partner were to meet with yesterday. After finding his body the police went to his house. There were signs of a struggle but no one was there."

"And you still haven't heard from Jake?" Scully asked, fear creeping into her voice.

"No." Skinner shook his head. "Technically this falls under the Richmond field office's jurisdiction, but I've informed them that I'll be sending the two of you to lead the investigation. I have a helicopter waiting for you. If you need anything at all, call me."

"Thank you sir," Scully said, trying to keep the tears from her eyes.

As they left Skinner's office Mulder put his arm reassuringly around Scully's shoulder.

"We'll find him," he said with conviction.

Scully just nodded and stared straight ahead. Mulder couldn't help but to think of the meeting he was to have today with the man from the DOD. He would have to wait a little longer for his information. Whatever the smoking man was up too, finding Jake was far more important.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hello all. Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing and following. I know the atart is a bit slow but the action will pick up soon including some whumpage angst and comfort. There were also be some appearences by some of other favorite friends.**_

* * *

**Thursday, 9:30am-Home of Lester Stillwell:**

The flight from Washington to Lynchburg had been a short one but it had seemed like an eternity to Dana Scully. As they passed over the beauty of the Virginia countryside she tried not to think about what had happened to her little brother. Unfortunately, she was imagining the worst. If he has OK he would have called someone by now, she was sure of that.

As Mulder drove around another mountain bend they came upon the small, simple farm of Lester Stillwell. Mulder wondered what, if anything, he had to do with the disappearance of Jake and his partner. The land surrounding the small white house was swarming with agents and uniformed police. Dana watched as a team of agents headed into the surrounding woods being led by two bloodhounds. She knew that these men weren't looking for two missing men; they were looking for two bodies. A chill ran down Dana's spine at that thought.

Mulder noticed as Scully shuddered and place his hand on her back to guide her through the throng of police in the front yard. Reaching the front door they flashed their badges and were let inside. They entered into the living room where crime scene technicians were busy collecting evidence. A small determined looking woman with short brown hair and bright green eyes approached the two agents.

"Agent's Scully and Mulder?" She asked extending her right hand. They both nodded and shook her hand.

"Hello, I'm Special Agent Ellen Cooper from the Richmond field office," she said turning to face Dana, "Agent Scully, I understand that your brother is one of the missing agents, I'm sorry."

"Yes he is, and thank you." Dana responded casting her eyes towards the floor.

"What do we have so far?" Mulder asked getting down to business.

"Well," Agent Cooper answered, "We have no sign of forced entry and the only visible evidence of a struggle is the blood stain in front of the couch. We're collecting fingerprint and blood evidence now. We'll be sending it to the state crime lab in Richmond as soon as possible."

Mulder nodded and walked away to survey the rest of the house. Agent Cooper returned her attention to Dana who was now staring straight ahead.

"Agent Scully," she said with compassion in her eyes. "I'm sorry that we don't have much to go on so far, but we have fifteen agents as well as state and local PD working this case. We'll do everything in our power to find you brother and his partner."

"I know you will and I appreciate that," Dana said with a tight smile.

As Mulder walked over to the couch the technician taking blood samples pulled a silver chain from beneath it.

"Agent Cooper, I found something under the couch." He called out holding up the small medallion. "It has an inscription on it." he said wiping off some dried blood. "It says, 'God speed son..."

"...Return safely home." Scully finished, forcing back tears.

"Yeah," the agent said with surprise, "how did you know that?

"It's my brother's St Christopher's medal," Scully replied, her voice catching. "Our father gave it to him right before Jake went to Kuwait. He never takes it off."

The agent walked to Scully and handed her the chain. A tear slid down her face as she rubbed the medal between her fingers. Across the room Mulder crouched down inspecting the blood stain on the floor.

"Come here," he said motioning to the technician. "Do you see how this trail of blood looks like it was swept underneath the couch?" Mulder stood up and pointed at the sofa. "Help me tip this over."

As the two men lifted the couch Scully and agent Cooper returned their attention to what they were doing. When Mulder and Scully saw what was beneath the furniture they both went white and Scully let out a small gasp. There, written in blood, were three  
letters..."K-R-Y!"

* * *

**Thursday-somewhere in central Virginia:**

As Jake slowly awoke he was aware of only one thing, pain. It felt as though someone had split his skull open with a claw hammer. Opening his eyes he tried to take in his surroundings. He had been bound to a chair sitting upright with his hands tied behind him. The room was small with no windows. There were exposed pipes and a water heater in the corner, Jake surmised that it was some type of utility room. The room was almost empty, containing only two chairs and a small table, the only light coming from a bare light bulb that hung above his head.

Unfortunately there was nothing that could give him any indication as to where he had been taken. He also had no idea how long he had been there, but judging from the degree of soreness in his arms and shoulders it had been quite a while. By now people would know that he was missing. He wondered if the note he left under couch would do any good. He had been interrupted before he could finish but he was sure that if his sister Mulder saw what was there they would be able to fill in the missing letters.

Suddenly the door to the room was pushed open and in strode Alex Krycek. Although he had never met him in person he would know the man who killed his sister anywhere. Jake had spent quite a bit of time studying Krycek and trying to ascertain his whereabouts.

"So, baby boy Scully is finally awake", he said with a smirk. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Fuck you, Krycek." Jake shot back.

"Now, now, why all of the hostility Charles? I came here with the best of intentions," he said extending a glass of water with his good hand.

Jake eyed the glass suspiciously, wondering if it might contain more than just water. Oh well, he thought, if they're going to kill me then they're going to kill me. It won't do me any good to die thirsty. He nodded at Krycek who moved the glass close enough for Jake to reach the straw. Jake gulped the water down greedily. When he had finished Krycek set the class down on the table and took a seat in the other chair.

"So Alex, what is it you want from me?" Jake asked.

"Me, oh I don't want anything from you" Krycek replied. "I was asked to do a job and I did it."

"I know you Krycek you don't do anything if there's nothing in it for you." Jake said, glaring at the man across from him.

"Well, I took the assignment to prove my usefulness to some people who were beginning to take my talents for granted. Plus there's always the kick that I get out of watching your sister and Agent Mulder run around like chickens with their head's cut off."

"You piece of shit!" Jake roared. "You would put my sister through this for your own entertainment."

"Temper temper, Jake." Krycek said standing up, "I'll be back later when you've calmed down a bit. Your partner wanted to see you. I'll go let him know that you're awake." Krycek walked out of the room closing the door behind him.

Thursday, 10:15 am- Home of Lester Stillwell:

Dana took in a sharp breath as she stared at the letters on the floor. Everyone in the room looked at Mulder and Scully expectantly.

"Agents, do these letters mean something to you?" Agent Cooper inquired.

"Yes," Mulder said, "I believe that Agent Scully was trying to write someone's name."

"Whose?"

"A man named Alex Krycek," Mulder continued. "He is a former FBI agent who currently works with a group of very dangerous men."

"What would he want with Agents Scully and Singer?"

"I'm not sure," Mulder said biting a thumbnail. "Scully, I'm going to go call Skinner. We need to let him know what we found here. I also want him to see if there is any possible connection between Krycek and this guy Stillwell."

Scully nodded to her partner as he walked past her and out the door.

"Ok," she said, regaining her business composure. "We should get prints from the floor around the bloodstain. Whoever left those prints probably left the blood."

"And it will be quicker to get the results from the prints than the DNA tests." Agent Cooper surmised.

"Exactly," Scully nodded, "Although I'd be willing to bet that those prints will belong to my brother. I don't know of any reason that Kyle Singer would have to know Alex Krycek."

"I'll make sure Richmond knows to put the prints up against Krycek's as well." Agent Cooper added.

"Yes, do that." Scully said. "I wouldn't actually expect to find any of his prints though. This man is a professional, the only way we'll find his prints is if he meant for us to.

"Agent Scully," Cooper paused, "I hate to ask you this, but in your medical opinion, do you think that the size of the blood stain indicates…"

"No," Scully interrupted, "I don't think that we can ascertain anything from the size of that bloodstain." At least she hoped that they couldn't. Her eyes were drawn back to the rust colored letters on the floor. Jake had the wherewithal to write that message that had to be a good sign. Scully would hang on to that hope as long as she could.

**Meanwhile outside**

Mulder paced the yard as he waited for AD Skinner to answer the phone. His mind was filled with questions. What the h*ll was Krycek up to? What did he want with Jake? Mulder needed answers, he would not stand by and watch the Scullys bury another member of their family.

S: "Skinner." The Ad's voice interrupted Mulder's thoughts.

M: "Sir this is Agent Mulder."

S: "Mulder, have you found something already?"

M: "Sir, we have reason to believe that Alex Krycek may be involved in the disappearances."

S: "Krycek?" Skinner's voice was filled with disbelief. "What makes you say that?

Mulder gave Skinner a quick rundown on what they had found inside Lester Stillwell's house.

S: "How is Agent Scully holding up?

M: "She's doing Ok for now sir. She is definitely unnerved but I think she will be able to continue on the case."

S: "Alright Mulder, I will get all the information I can from this end, then I'll be coming to Lynchburg to help coordinate this investigation."

M: "You realize sir, if Alex Krycek is involved there is a very real possibility that they are no longer in the state of Virginia.

S: "I know, Mulder, but we have to start somewhere. If you find out anything new, call me."

M: "Yes sir," Mulder flipped his phone closed and returned to the house.

* * *

**Later that day- The mountains of Virginia:**

A short time after Krycek left the room the door opened again. Jake looked up to see Kyle Singer stroll into the room.

"Hey there, Jakey." He said with venom. "Are you feeling Ok this morning? Looks like you've got a bump on your head. Did you need some Tylenol?"

Jake noticed the change in Kyle's demeanor. The laid back easy going man that he drove to Virginia with the day before was not here now. Kyle wore and icy cold grin on his face and he appeared to be very angry.

"What is this?" Jake asked." What the hell are you doing with Alex Krycek? How do you even know him?"

"Oh Jake," Kyle said taking a seat. "Alex and I have been aquatinted for quite some time now."

"Why would you be working for these men?"

"I wasn't really left much of a choice Jake. You and your buddies saw to that?"

"What?" Jake was completely confused now, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't act so innocent Scully; you remember what happened in Kuwait." Singer almost spit the words.

"Vaguely" Jake replied, "I was almost killed that night, so the end of it is a little fuzzy for me."

"Oh poor Jake," Singer said with sarcasm. "Our squad took the blame for that night. Two of us in particular were singled out for punishment. At first they didn't have much evidence against us, but then you and your two friends Callahan and Riley decided to testify at the hearing. Your words were the nails in the coffin of my career Jake."

"We only told the truth to that committee," Jake protested. "We never meant to hurt anyone's career."

"Sure you didn't," Singer laughed. "Look, I've been shown the truth."

"By who? Alex Krycek?" Jake laughed back at him. "He is not a man to be trusted, he murdered my sister."

"Did he now, are you sure of that?" Singer asked, raising an eyebrow. Then he quickly changed the subject, "Do you know what happened to those other two marines, Jake?"

"Well, I know that Callahan died in a car accident a few years back but I've lost touch with Riley."

"Car Accident," Kyle said forming quote marks in the air. "That's right, a car accident. Yeah, it turns out that Riley had a tragic diving accident a couple of years ago. Jumped into the pool and his neck just snapped. Poor bastard."

"You murdered them." it was more a statement than a question.

"Who me?" Kyle asked in mock horror. "I would have killed you too but I wasn't allowed.

"Who wouldn't allow you to?" Jake wanted to know.

"After that hearing, I knew that my military career was over. I was approached by a group of men who made me a very attractive offer. They would make my problems go away and put me in the FBI. In return I just have do a job for them every now and then."

"You made a deal with the Devil, you know."

"Maybe so, but it has been a wonderful opportunity for me" Kyle said as he sat on the table inches away from Jake. "I was able to take my revenge on the men who wronged me."

"Why wouldn't they let you kill me?" Jake asked.

"Jacob, you don't ask these men why. You just do what they say and wait for circumstances to change. Besides, in the end I was given a much better way to get back at you."

Kyle leaned forward and loosened Jake's tie, an icy smile spreading across his face.

"You know," he said with malice, "When Alex realized that we had the wrong sister he was very upset. Personally, I didn't much care. By that time I had planned on killing both of them anyway."

"You're lying!" Jake scoffed. "The other man with Krycek that night died in custody.

"Ha!" Kyle barked with laughter. "Yeah poor _, he was just the driver. Made an excellent patsy.

Kyle circled around Jake's chair and leaned un to whisper in his ear. "You know we couldn't decide who got to do it. Dana is Mulder's partner but she's your sister. So," he shrugged, "we flipped a coin."

"You son of a bitch!" Jake strained against the ropes binding him. "Which one of you killed her? TELL ME!"

Kyle leaned in his mouth within an inch of Jake's left ear and whispered, "I guess you'll never know."

Jake continued to fight against his restraint as Singer jumped down from the table.

"Well now, they said that I couldn't kill you but they didn't say that I had to be nice." Kyle smiled as he slammed his fist into Jake's diaphragm.

As Jake struggled to catch his breath, Kyle leaned in again. "Now, maybe if you apologize to me I'll let you off easy."

Jake looked up and with all of the resolve he had simply said, "Fuck Off!"

Before Jake could tell what was happening Kyle had pulled a knife from his belt and sliced Jake's upper right arm.

"See Jake, that's what bad manners will get you. I'll give you one more chance to apologize to me. Now what do you say?"

"Go to hell!"

"Tisk, tisk Jacob," Kyle admonished shaking his head. "Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

Kyle brought his arm back and slammed the back of his hand as hard as he could against the side of Jake's head. As the chair and its occupant tumbled backward Jake's head slammed first into a pipe and then the floor. Once again the youngest of the Scully children was left unconscious.

* * *

**Alrighty, that's it from now. As always let me know what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey y'all, thanks again for reading. Sorry for the long delay. But, here is a nice long chapter for you. As always read and review!_

* * *

**Tuesday, 2:30pm- Bedford County Morgue:**

Scully stood over the freshly autopsied body of Lester Stillwell not knowing what to do next. She had spent nearly three hours completing a thorough examination and had found nothing beyond the obvious; this man had been shot in the head. She wasn't exactly sure what she had expected to find, a needle puncture mark, perhaps a metal implant. Some sort of clue to link him to Alex Krycek. Scully wanted very badly for Mr. Stillwell to be the reason that Krycek was here. If he wasn't, then Jake was and Dana hated to think what that might mean.

The door to the autopsy bay opened and a middle aged, slightly overweight man in a sheriff's uniform stepped tentatively into the room.

"Agent Scully?" he asked as he removed his hat, revealing wisps of hair covering his balding head.

"I'm Sheriff Harlan Brand," he said, standing a safe distance from the corpse on the table, he was not comfortable in this room.

"Yes sir," Scully said as she removed her gloves and walked to him to shake his hand. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yes ma'am, I was wondering if you had found anything with your exam."

"Not really," Scully sighed heavily. "Other than the gunshot wound to the back of the head there are no signs of trauma."

"Well okay then," the sheriff bowed his head in thought. "Ma'am," he said raising his head to face Scully. "I also thought that you should know that the local media's been poking around. Now, I told all of my men to keep quiet but somehow they found out about the missing agents."

"Do they have their names?" Scully asked.

"No, not yet, but they're already reporting on it, and it won't take long for the national media to pick it up. I assumed that you would want to inform the family members before that happens."

"Yes, thank you Sheriff," Scully said. "I'll see to that, and if you find out anything else please let me know."

"Yes ma'am," the Sheriff said with a dip of his head. "And ma'am, I know that one of the agents is your brother and I just wanted to apologize for the leak. If I find out who it was they will be dealt with appropriately."

With that the sheriff turned and retreated from the room. Once alone Scully began slowly removing her protective outer clothing. She had intentionally kept herself busy with work all day. Now the thoughts that she had been pushing aside came flooding in. This was not just a missing person's case. Her little brother was out there somewhere; he was hurt and worst of all he was with the man who had killed their sister.

Scully knew that she should have called her mother this morning, but she had been putting it off. She had hope that she would have more to tell her if she waited, but now she had no choice. There was no way she was going to risk her finding out from the evening news. As she washed her hands she realized that Bill was probably at their mother's house by now.

"Damn it!" She said to the empty room.

She knew that it would be good for her mother to have someone with her but Dana could not deal with Bill's attitude right now.

Having cleaned up Scully walked outside into the bright fall sunlight; it was a beautiful crisp day. It reminded her of days when Melissa would drag her and Jake out of bed to go to the woods or the ocean for an adventure. Tears started to return to her eyes but she shook them away. She needed to be calm to talk to her mom. If Maggie knew how upset Dana was then she would be terrified. As she pulled out her phone and began dialing she steeled herself for the conversation.

* * *

**Mulder's car:**

As Mulder drove back from the scene of Lester Stillwell's murder he was no closer to figuring out where Jake was. Opening his phone he punched in his office voice mail number. After sifting through several unimportant calls he reached the one he was waiting for.

"Agent Mulder this is your friend from the defense department. I thought that we were going to meet today. I have some materials that you would definitely be interested in. I will call again tomorrow afternoon."

"Damn," Mulder muttered, as he pulled into the medical park. As he walked across the parking lot he wondered again what this man had to tell him. He walked into the building and up to the receptionist.

"Excuse me," he said quietly. "I'm Agent Mulder with the FBI. My partner was here performing an autopsy. Do you know if she's still here?"

"Let's see, short red head right?" She smiled sweetly at Mulder. "She left about a half an hour ago."

"Thank you," Mulder said as he turned around to walk back outside. He was just about to call Scully on her cell when he noticed a solitary figure sitting on a park bench. Mulder walked up behind Scully and touched her gently on the shoulder.

"Hey, you OK?" He asked gently.

"Oh Mulder, yeah I'm fine." Her eyes had dried but they were still red and puffy and she knew that he noticed. "Did you find anything out?

"No," he shook his head. "How about you?"

"Not with my exam," she said as he sat down next to her. "However the county sheriff informed me that the media knows that we have missing agents. We should find out how to contact Agent Singer's family."

Mulder nodded and turned to face Scully, "What about your family, have you told them?"

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with mom and Bill." Dana responded looking down at her hands.

"Bill?" Mulder said with surprise. "Did he fly in because of this?

"No, he was due in today for a visit now that Jake is back. That's why we had you over for dinner on Tuesday," she said with a slight smile.

"Oh," Mulder smiled back. "Is your mom OK?"

"Not really, she's very worried and upset. I just wish that I had more to tell her."

Mulder placed his hand over Scully's and looked out at the lake at a loss for words. He wanted to take Scully's pain away, but no words would do that. The only way that he could help her now was to bring her brother back safely.

"Look Scully, why don't we go get checked into our hotels." He said with a squeeze of her hand. "There really isn't anything we can do for the moment. Maybe a shower and some food will help clear our heads a bit."

Scully nodded and, hand in hand, the two agents walked towards their cars.

* * *

**Friday, 8:00 a.m.- Bedford County Sheriff's Office:**

Assistant Director Walter Skinner paced back and forth at the front of the small conference room. He had arrived in Lynchburg at 7 o'clock and had promptly put together a debriefing. The room was packed with law enforcement officers. Skinner had assembled twenty FBI agents as well as the heads of the state and local PD's. By 8 o'clock everyone had arrived with the exception of Agent Cooper. She had gone to Richmond to oversee the fingerprint analysis and had yet to return. Skinner checked his watch and decided to start without her.

"Ok people, let's get started here." Skinner said over the din.

The agents settled into their seats and began to quiet down. Mulder turned on the slide projector and turned off the lights. Scully was also standing at the front of the room next to a chalkboard diagram of the crime scene. Once the room was quiet Skinner began the meeting.

"Alright everyone, we're still waiting on Agent Cooper and the fingerprint analysis but I'd like to get going. We'll go over what we have so far until she gets here. Agent Mulder…"

Skinner yielded the floor to Mulder who stepped forward to the projector.

"Sir," Mulder nodded at Skinner. "Wednesday afternoon two Federal agents arrived at the home of Lester Stillwell." Mulder clicked the projector to a picture of Stillwell. "The agents; C. Jacob Scully click and Kyle Singer click have not been seen or heard from since that time. Mr. Stillwell was found dead early Thursday morning. Autopsy results show that he died sometime between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning."

Mulder then clicked to a picture of Lester Stillwell's living room.

"The only other evidence we have thus far was found in the main room of Mr. Stillwell's home. A large blood stain was found on the floor. click Beneath the couch we found a message written in blood. click We belive that the letters KRY are the unfinished spelling of this man's name, click Alex Krycek. This is our main suspect; he is a former FBI agent and a wanted criminal. In fact he is also the prime suspect in the murder of Agent Scully's older sister…"

As Mulder continued with his profile of Krycek Agent Cooper entered the room and walked over the Scully. She handed a folder to Scully who scanned over its contents. They began discussing the results in soft tones. After a few minutes they were interrupted by AD Skinner.

"Agent Scully, Agent Cooper, is there something that you would like to share with the rest of the class."

"Yes sir, sorry" Agent Cooper said as she stepped forward. "I've gone over the fingerprint results and some of what we found was unexpected."

"Alright then why don't you take the floor? Thank you Agent Mulder."

Mulder nodded to Skinner and moved to stand beside Scully.

"Thank you sir. As we expected we found Lester Stillwell's prints distributed throughout the house. Agent Scully's prints were found in only two places; the outside of the front door and in and around the bloodstain on the floor. We're assuming at this point that the blood on the floor is his. This is consistent with our theory that he was struck from behind shortly after entering the residence."

Mulder stole a glance at Scully who was listening intently to Agent Cooper. Looking down at her he noticed that she was wearing Jake's St. Christopher's Medal. Technically it should have been bagged and put with the other evidence but he wasn't going to mention that to her.

"It starts to get strange when we look at where we found Agent Singer's print." Cooper continued. "His prints were found on the inside of the front door and all throughout the kitchen, including the two dirty glasses we found in the sink."

Mumbled conversation began in the crowd and Skinner gave Mulder and Scully a questioning look.

"Were Krycek's prints found anywhere?" an agent in the crowd asked.

"No," Agent Cooper replied. "But we weren't really expecting to. He is known to wear gloves to camouflage his prosthetic hand."

As the other agents continued to question Agent Cooper, Mulder tried to process the new information. He had expected them to find Kyle's prints on the floor near Jake's. He had assumed that they had both been knocked out immediately, unless…"

"Sir, may I?" Mulder interupted the conversation. Skinner nodded to Mulder who retook the floor.

"Sir, I think that we need to entertain the very real possibility that Kyle Singer was not a victim, but rather he was Krycek's accomplice."

"Agent Mulder that is a serious accusation" Skinner interjected.

"I know that sir, but look at the evidence. Why would Krycek immediately incapacitate one victim and not the other? And then he sits and has a drink with him. I'm sorry but that makes absolutely no sense.

AD Skinner looked on as several agents nodded in agreement with Mulder.

"Ok, Agent Mulder makes a valid point. Foster," he said pointing to an agent in the crowd. "I want you to pull all of Singer's files; both military and FBI. See if there is anything to connect him to this." Then to the rest of the room, "Alright, we're going to look into this as a possibility, but for now we will still treat this as two missing agents."

Skinner divided the agents into teams and handed out orders. Time was of the essence and they all knew it. Most missing person's cases were solved in the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours if they were solved at all. However, they also knew that this was not an average kidnapping.

* * *

**Friday afternoon-The Mountains of Virginia:**

After Kyle left the room Jake had slipped in and out of conciousness for what he could only assume had been several hours. During that time Jake heard Krycek and Singer come in and out of his room. Twice Jake heard a third voice that he did not recognize. Whoever the man was he seemed to be the one in charge. The first time he came in he had chastised Kyle for slicing Jake's arm. The next time that he came to, Jake's bloody dress shirt and tie were gone and his arm had been bandaged.

When Jake finally regained full consciousness he was lying on a thin mat in his dress pants and wife beater, his arms handcuffed to pipe a few inches above him. His entire body was stiff and sore. He needed to move around. Grabbing the pipe with his hands Jake pulled himself into a sitting position.

As he did this the plaster around the pipe cracked in several places. Jake scanned the rest of the wall and noticed that the whole thing was in fairly poor shape. Facing the wall Jake used the heel of his shoe to kick at the plaster, easily knocking out several large chunks. The back of the wallboard was covered in mold. Peering into the hole that he had just created Jake couldn't believe his luck. There had been a great deal of water damage inside of the wall and the pipe that he was attached to was rusted through.

Jake shifted to get his feet under him. As he stood up he pulled on the pipe as hard as he could snapping the brittle section of rusty pipe. Jake carefully slid the chain around the broken area to free himself. His hands were still cuffed together but at least he had freedom of movement.

Jake knew that he had to do something before his captors returned. He walked to the door and listened carefully. He couldn't hear anything coming from the other side and he decided to take a chance. Reaching down he turned the knob slowly and pulled. The door didn't budge. "Damn it!" he muttered. This would be the end of his luck for now. They had obviously bolted the door from the outside. Jake decided his only real course of action now was to stand behind the door and hope to get the drop on the next person who entered the room.

Jake stood behind the door for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, he heard someone unlocking the bolt on the door, as it opened Jake sprang forward. Krycek was caught completely off guard as Jake grabbed him from behind. In one swift motion he kicked the door shut and slammed Krycek into the far wall. Pulling the chain to the handcuffs around Krycek's throat he leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"Hey slime ball, how does it feel to be on the other end?"

Krycek struggled to break free but he was clearly outmatched. Jake may have been weak and injured but he had a considerable size advantage over Krycek. As Jake pulled the cuffs tighter around his neck Krycek gagged and clawed at the chain with his good hand.

"Huh, you Son of a Bitch." Jake snarled. "I told you that you'd pay for killing my sister."

"Hey, I didn't kill her." Krycek gasped, "I lost the coin toss."

At that Jake pulled back and slammed Krycek's face into the wall again. "You think I care who pulled the trigger? You were there that's all that matters!" He said as he pulled the cuffs tighter around Krycek's neck.

Jake was not usually a violent man, but the pain over his sisters loss was flying out of him as rage. Jake was so focused on his anger towards Krycek that he never heard the door open behind him. He was caught completely off guard when he felt the gun barrel pressed to the back of his head. He turned his head slightly and saw Kyle holding the pistol and smiling. It was the man next to him that spoke.

"Mr. Scully, It would be in your best interest to let Alex go. I think we both know that Mr. Singer will not hesitate to pull the trigger."

Jake knew that he didn't have a choice, so he loosened his grip on Krycek. No matter how big he was he couldn't take on a gun, and Kyle was just waiting for an excuse to blow his head off. Jake lifted his hands from around Krycek's throat and he fell forward gasping for breath.

"Now," the older man said, "Alex, Kyle could you please tie him properly to the chair."

The two men immediately did as he said. Jake couldn't shake the feeling that he should know who he was. As Krycek and Singer began binding Jake to his chair the third man walked over to inspect the damage that Jake had inflicted on the pipe and wall.

"Leave one hand free," he said turning back to the others, "Just be sure that he can't reach any of the knots."

When Jake was securely in place the old man dismissed Alex and Kyle as if they were servants. It was obvious that Kyle resented the way he was being treated but Jake could tell that he did not dare to question the man's authority. As he took the seat opposite Jake the man pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket. It was then that Jake realized exactly who was sitting in front of him.

* * *

_Alrighty, that's it for now. Let me know what you think!_


End file.
